31 October, 2015

SW:TOR, Knights of the Fallen Empire, Chapter I The Hunt

By
Kyle Shimmin

Now that the Knights of the Fallen Empire has released for
all subscribers and enough time has passed that I don’t feel bad about talking
spoilers, we’re going to do exactly that! As I explained in yesterday’s
prologue, I’ll be recounting the journey of Ravanor, my original character, in
a somewhat dramatic, screenshot-heavy form.

Chapter I The Hunt

In response to Darth Marr’s summons, Commander Ravanor,
formerly of the Imperial Intelligence rendezvoused with the joint
Imperial-Republic taskforce that Marr helmed. Upon docking with the flagship, a
Terminus-class Destroyer, Ravanor was greeted by its Captain and an honour
guard of troopers.

Elsewhere, a lone shuttle flew towards the high-orbit throne
room of Zakuul, the capital of the mysterious force attacking the Empire and
Republic. It delivered the scarred figure of Arcann, Emperor Valkorion’s only
remaining son, and together they orchestrated the beginning of the end for
Marr’s unsuspecting force.

Back aboard Marr’s flagship, a small, nimble probe was
spotted in the midst of the Coalition’s formation, unbeknownst to them it was
their only warning of the impending attack. Moments later a fleet of
unfathomable size dropped out of hyperspace; hundreds if not thousands of
strange looking hulls formed in an impossibly perfect formation. The unknown force
immediately opened fire with lasers and boarding pods, leaving Ravanor in an
all too familiar position.

But not totally familiar. As Ravanor’s blaster bolts punched
smoking holes in the gleaming and weighty forms of ‘Skytrooper’ boarders, I was struck
by the close and oppressive nature of the corridors around him. Unlike almost
every other environment in the game this area was appropriately sized, the cold
angular imperialistic walls closed in around my camera and it all felt so
perfect. Coalition troopers traded shots in ferocious fire fights against ranks
of faceless white aggressors, in the confined corridors of a warship. The
Episode IV: A New Hope parallels were not lost on me.

During Ravanor’s sweep of the deck he encountered two
corporals, one Imperial one Republic, holding a shielded doorway, beyond which soldiers
were being quickly overwhelmed by Skytroopers. Ravanor could have aided them and led a
counterattack, but time isn’t in abundance, instead he ordered the blast doors
sealed, and thus he made the first ‘significant’ choice of the expansion. And
then came a second; seeing no way to reach his Phantom, (his personal ship)
Ravanor ordered his crew to take off and carry news of the attack back to the
Empire, little did he know that’s the last he would be seeing them for a good
long while.

Despite having cleared the invaders from the command deck,
Marr’s ship was virtually dead in the water. Ravanor descended to the
engineering deck, upon arriving he was greeted by a display of Darth Marr
strength, and the two rapidly cut a path through the Skytrooper invaders. With the
engines safe and the ship mobile again, they took the only rational course of
action and ordered the ship to ramming speed. (Click to enlarge).

The feeling was awesome. It’s a good time to stress how
different the presentation has been during this chapter. Cutscenes spark every
few moments, dynamic cutscenes depicting actions like fleet battles and close quarters
combat, more elaborate than pretty much any in the base game, oh and the music,
it never stops. If Knights of the Fallen Empire didn’t share the same graphics
and combat as The Old Republic, I could have easily mistaken what was happening
on screen for another game; it’s all about the moment, the experience, not the MMO
gameplay.

Ravanor awoke sometime later, cuffed but unharmed in a cell
surrounded by dark robed, masked guards and watched by Arcann. The Prince
questioned Ravanor but was met only with stoic silence – the agent was a professional
after all – while Marr, also a prisoner, used every exchange as a means to goad
Arcann into biting. The Prince revealed they were now in the Eternal Empire of
Zakuul.

On their way to the throne room of Zakuul, walls lined with
staff-wielding armoured guards, Arcann and his prisoners were waylaid by an
older man named Heskal, referred to as a Scion. The animosity between the two men
was palpable; there is rift between them, but the many questions within Ravanor’s mind
were swept aside as he was led into the throne room.

Almost immediately Marr identified the Eternal Emperor
Valkorion as the missing Sith Emperor Vitiate; he may have been wearing a different
skin but Marr could sense his true self through the Force. Valkorion neither
confirmed nor denied Marr’s conclusion, but merely extended his two prisoners
an offer, to kneel before him.

Marr of course refused and seized the opportunity to attack;
using the Force he snatched a light-staff from the hands of a nearby sentry and
struck them down with it. But Valkorion ended his resistance with a burst of
Force lightning, he swatted the dark lord aside like one might a bothersome
fly.

At the sound of commotion Vaylin, a dark hooded woman
entered and ordered the guards and onlookers to leave the throne room. Valkorian
extended the offer again, just to Ravanor this time.

Who accepted.

The decision was not an easy one, I sat mulling it over for
a quite a while, before concluding that Ravanor being the slick operative he is
would accept, if only to increase his chances of survival and escape. He knelt
and Valkorion poured the Force, his dark essence, into the agent. Until his
chest was seared open by a lightsaber, in a fit of jealousy at what he viewed as an unearned gift, Arcann cut down his father. Ravanor was thrown aside by the force of the Emperor's passing, cast unconscious, and framed for the Immortal Emperor's murder. Thus began Arcann's reign.